Machine Shed baked potato soup

The Machine Shed is a wonderful restaurant with locations around
the Midwest, including in Urbandale, which isn't too far from my place. It's a great
place to go for Sunday brunch or any meal with a big group. They have huge round
tables that the whole extended family can sit around, and they bring big baskets
of breads and bowls of cottage cheese, coleslaw and other side dishes to pass around
and share. One of my favorite things to order there is baked potato soup. It's beyond
good.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of putting together a cookbook
for The Machine Shed and Successful Farming magazine. The baked potato soup recipe was a shoe-in. I made it for my family
the other night, and everyone went crazy for it. The recipe makes a big batch, so
we had it for dinner two nights in a row, and the kids were actually excited about
having leftovers! It's a little trickier to make than basic potato soup, but it's
so worth it. You can do it, and you will be glad you did!

Click here to buy the cookbook from our online store: Now That's Cookin'.
Here's the recipe, straight from the chefs at The Machine Shed:

Cook potatoes in a large saucepan in lightly salted boiling water
for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender; drain and set aside.

In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook bacon, onion, and celery until
bacon is crisp and onion is tender. (Try to avoid eating all the bacon.) Stir in
4 teaspoons flour. Add broth, milk, salt, and pepper. Cook an dstir until just simmering
(do not boil).

In a medium saucepan, heat butter until melted. Stir in 1/2 cup
flour. Cook and stir for 1 minutes. Slowly add butter-flour mixture to milk mixture,
stirring constantly. (I found that spreading a scoop at a time around the Dutch
oven to thin it out, then incorporating it into the soup, worked well to avoid clumps.)
Cook and stir mixture until thickened and bubbly.